The Israeli military acknowledged that it carried out a commando operation in Nabi Chit, Lebanon, this weekend to search for the remains of missing Israeli navigator Ron Arad. According to the Israeli military, the operation aimed to find evidence of Arad's fate and said his remains were not found. The operation involved Israeli special forces being dropped by military helicopters near Nabi Chit in the Bekaa Valley.
Hezbollah reported that four Israeli helicopters flew from Syria into eastern Lebanon and conducted airstrikes before landing. Witnesses reported a succession of airstrikes before soldiers arrived, with Israeli forces possibly using uniforms or vehicles similar to Lebanon's army. The origin of the Israeli helicopters used in the operation remains unclear.
Intense clashes occurred near a cemetery in Nabi Chit between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters. Hezbollah claims to have engaged Israeli units near a local cemetery where excavations were observed. The Israeli Prime Minister confirmed the mission and acknowledged it did not achieve desired results.
No Israeli casualties were reported from the operation. The village of Nabi Chit suffered significant destruction, with damaged buildings and explosion impacts. Casualty figures from the Nabi Chit operation present conflicting reports.
Lebanon's Health Ministry reported 41 people killed and dozens wounded in the clashes and airstrikes. Meanwhile, the state Lebanese news agency NNA reported at least 26 people killed, including three Lebanese army soldiers. The exact number of casualties from the Nabi Chit operation remains uncertain given these conflicting reports.
Israel has continued airstrikes on Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, targeting rocket launchers, weapons depots, and military facilities. Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel since the escalation began. Eight Israeli soldiers were wounded by fire from Lebanon near the border, five seriously, including the son of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
The Norwegian Refugee Council estimates around 300,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon due to the fighting. The search for Ron Arad has deep historical roots. Ron Arad was captured in 1986 after his fighter jet was shot down over southern Lebanon by the Shiite Amal militia, also referred to as Believers' Resistance.
In 1994, Israeli commandos seized Mustafa Dirani, leader of the Believers' Resistance, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley and took him to Israel; he was released in 2004. Dirani stated in a 2000 interview that Arad disappeared in 1988 when guards left him to check on relatives during a battle. Israel has a history of covert actions and commando operations in Lebanon, including the abduction of a sea captain in November 2024, claimed as a Hezbollah operative, and the killing of a Hezbollah-linked currency exchanger in April 2024, with Lebanese officials alleging Israeli involvement.
A separate disappearance has raised questions about possible connections to the Nabi Chit operation. A retired Lebanese security officer, Capt. Ahmed Shukr, vanished in December after going to meet a possible buyer for land.
Lebanese officials and Shukr's family believe he was abducted and taken to Israel in an intelligence operation related to the disappearance of Israeli navigator Ron Arad. Whether Israel abducted Capt. Ahmed Shukr, as Lebanese officials and his family allege, remains unknown.
Shukr's family says he was never part of a militant group and played no role in Arad's disappearance. The current whereabouts and status of Capt. Ahmed Shukr are unknown.
Whether the Israeli operation in Nabi Chit resulted from information extracted from Capt. Ahmed Shukr is also unclear. The operation represents the latest chapter in Israel's long-standing efforts to resolve the fate of Ron Arad, whose disappearance has remained one of Israel's most enduring military mysteries for nearly four decades.
The mission's failure to locate remains has been publicly acknowledged by Israeli leadership, even as cross-border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah continue to escalate, displacing hundreds of thousands and causing significant destruction in border communities.